1860
The population of Oshkosh is 6,086.
The city has 12 taverns and three breweries:

George Loescher runs the Oshkosh Brewery at the south west corner of River and Eveline Streets.

The Lake Brewery, owned by Anton Andrea, is located near the shore of Lake Winnebago in the general proximity of the area currently addressed as 74 Lake Street.

Christian Kaehler is making beer at the Fifth Ward Brewery, sometimes called the Bush Brewery, near what is now the south east corner of Algoma Boulevard and Vine Street.

1865
Civil War Veteran Charles Rahr and his brother August found The City Brewery. Located at the foot of Rahr Avenue near the Shore of Lake Winnebago, the brewery would come to be known as the Rahr Brewing Company of Oshkosh More.

Franz Wahle, co-founder of the Stevens Point Brewery moves to Oshkosh. He builds a new brewery at the foot of Doty street. This brewery will eventually become the Union Brewery operated by John Glatz and Christian Elser (see 1869 entry for more).

Oshkosh is the second largest city in Wisconsin with a population of about 11,000. Only Milwaukee is larger. Oshkosh has 40 groceries, 30 Saloons and five breweries.

Hop Farms are found everywhere in Winnebago County. More on that here.

Horse-drawn beer wagons are a familiar site on the streets of Oshkosh. Here’s a look at the beer wagons of Oshkosh.

1875
Lorenz Kuenzl opens the The Gambrinus Brewery near what is now the intersection of Harney Avenue and Eveline Street.

1878
The Union Brewery of Glatz and Elser becomes Oshkosh's leading beer producer. Here are the production numbers for 1878.

Union Brewery: 1,530 barrels

Horn and Schwalm’s Brooklyn Brewery: 1,366 barrels

Lorenz Kuenzl’s Gambrinus Brewery: 470 barrels

Rahr’s City Brewery: 340 barrels

Christian Kaehler’s Fifth Ward Bush Brewery: 140 barrels

1879
Horn and Schwalm's Brooklyn Brewery burns to the ground. A new, larger brewery is built in its place. The new brewhouse is made of brick and can produce more lager beer than any other brewery in Oshkosh.

Leonard Schiffmann establishes a short-lived white beer (wheat beer) brewery at what would now be the 1800 block of Doty Street. Schiffmann had previously been a saloon keeper on Main Street and was also an early bottler of beer in Oshkosh. See one of his clay beer bottles (probably from the 1870s) here.

Here's a look at Joe’s Sample Room, a typical pre-Prohibition Oshkosh saloon. It's now known as Jeff's On Rugby.

1894
In attempt to stave off competition from Milwaukee’s brewers, Oshkosh’s three largest breweries merge to form the Oshkosh Brewing Company. More.

1896
Pabst Brewing builds a new beer distribution plant in Oshkosh at 136 Jackson Street. The following year, the mammoth Milwaukee brewery constructs a new Oshkosh saloon named the Pabst Exchange at 600 Ohio Avenue. Both buildings are still intact More.

1898
Oshkosh saloon keepers are in open revolt against the domineering ways of the Oshkosh Brewing Company. More here.

1899
A look back at the Nigl Saloon at the northwest corner of 9th and Ohio.

1900
The Main St. saloon now known as Barley & Hops is built More.
The Oshkosh brewing Company dominates the beer market here.

1902
The Oshkosh Brewing Company builds the saloon that would become Witzke’s More.

1904
The end of an era: August Horn, founder of the Horn and Schwalm Brewery and the first president of the Oshkosh Brewing Company passes away More.
August Horn was a colorful character and we have stories about him here, here and here.

1906
See the Geek! The Oshkosh beer geek, that is. The 1906 model can be found here.

1907

Tom Ryan is selling England's strong Burton Ale at his Clipper Club saloon on Main Street More.

1908
The Oshkosh Brewing Company announces that “People who drink plenty of beer are always strong and healthy.” See it here.

1910
The Oshkosh beers are changing. The old-world brews are taking on a more “American” character. More on that, here.

1911
Plans are announced to establish a new brewery in Oshkosh. Peoples Brewing Company is on its way to becoming a reality More.

The Oshkosh Brewing Company begins construction of what would become one of the most admired brewhouses in the Midwest More.

1912
The Oshkosh Brewing Company is being challenged. The folks at the brewery are not the least bit happy about it. More here.

The Oshkosh Brewing Company

1913
The Peoples Brewing Company of Oshkosh is open for business More.

1919
On the Eve of Prohibition, the people of Oshkosh attempt to drink the city dry More.

Prohibition begins. The three remaining Oshkosh breweries limp along as best they can: The Oshkosh Brewing Company makes root beer, near beer and malt extract. Peoples Brewing and Rahr Brewing make soft drinks More.

The Oshkosh Brewing Company disseminates an enormous lie, claiming it has solved the problem of Prohibition More.

1920
Homebrewing explodes in Oshkosh. A look at the Oshkosh homebrewers of the Prohibition era here.

1925
During the depths of Prohibition, Felix Gertsch becomes the first American-born brewmaster at the Oshkosh Brewing Company More.

1926
Thomas A Getchius, member of the Winnebago County Board of Supervisors, introduces a resolution condemning Prohibition and encouraging the liberalization of the dry law to allow for beer. The measure passes 29 to 11. Getchius was a fun guy. Learn more about him here.

1961
David V. Uihlein, from the Milwaukee family that controls Schlitz, becomes president of the Oshkosh Brewing Company. For the first time the company is not being directed by a member of one of the brewery's founding families More.

Chief Oshkosh Beer begins its long, steady decline. That story is here.

1966
The Old Town Pub and Restaurant, a distant harbinger of Oshkosh’s modern beer culture, opens on Main Street More.

1969
Controlling interest of the Oshkosh Brewing Company is purchased by a group of six Oshkosh residents lead by Harold Kriz and Roger Zillges. Kriz becomes president. Zillges is named vice president.

1970
Peoples Brewing of Oshkosh becomes the first black-owned brewery in America More.

Oshkosh Welcomes Theodore Mack, the new President of Peoples Brewing More.

1996
The first Brews n' Blues Festival is held in Oshkosh’s Riverside Park More.

2001
Fox River Brewing is awarded three medals by the North American Brewers Association. They receive a Gold for their River Bend Belgian Abbey; Bronze for Caber Tossing Scottish Ale; and Silver for Winnebago Wheat.